WEAVING IDENTITY: THE JOURNEY OF A DALIT WOMAN IN URMILA PAWAR’S THE WEAVE OF MY LIFE: A DALIT WOMAN’S MEMOIRS

Name of Author : Parvathi. S

Abstract: Dalit literature has been first noticed by literary critics during the decade of 1950-1960. It is a new literary movement in Indian literature especially in the Marathi language and later in all languages. The Dalit literature is followed by a group of writers called Dalit Panther. The poets and writers of the movement use the word Dalit, which replaced the word Untouchable or Harijan. It is a kind of research literature that studies the problem of marginalised groups, namely Dalits, minorities, women, unnoticed tribes and physically challenged. The major objectives of Dalit studies can be delineated as to develop an understanding of the consequences of social exclusion and discrimination on economic growth, poverty, education, health, political participation and the well-being of the marginalised social sectors. Dalit literature tries to reflect the life of the ostracised through different genres. Dalit autobiography helps to portray the actual life and sufferings from a Dalit perspective. Urmila Pawar is a pioneer in the field of Dalit women writing. Her autobiography The Weave of My Life: A Dalit Woman’s Memoirs is a true projection of her childhood, adulthood, marital life and literary career as a Dalit woman. This paper attempts to study her autobiography from a marginalized point of view.

Keywords : Dalit literature, Tribal literature, Dalit memoir, Feminism, Marginalization.

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